“The Call to the Sick” by the Reverend Michael J.
Heggen
Based on the Gospel Reading found in Matthew
9:9-13, 18-26 for June 4-5, 2005
For Pentecost III; I.N.I.; Hope
Lutheran Church, Park Forest, Illinois
One of
the stories about President Abraham Lincoln says that even during the dark days
of the Civil War he had one very specific understanding with the aide who was
in charge of his daily calendar. His
instruction was that there was one kind of person who should always have
immediate access granted to him, no matter what was happening. The President defined that person as anyone
who was coming to him with information that might lead to the saving of a life
(Insights, 9-21-97).
I don’t
know how often that rule led to an intrusion into President Lincoln’s schedule,
but today’s Gospel lesson tells of an episode in which Jesus was confronted in
rapid succession by people in tremendous need.
No sooner had Jesus dealt with the Pharisees’ objection to his reaching
out to Matthew and his house - full of written-off sinners - than he is
confronted by the synagogue leader with his plea on behalf of his daughter who
has died. Jesus is in the midst of
responding to that need when a woman with a 12-year hemorrhage – The Living Bible says “sick for
twelve years with internal bleeding” – comes up, hoping to touch his cloak and
be healed. In this rather hectic day in
the life of our Lord, what can we see in terms of his relationship with us
today?
Jesus’ attention turns to at least three people the world would just as soon cast off. Considering the house-full at Matthew’s, there are certainly more, but these three certainly capture the force of Jesus’ mission here. First, he calls Matthew, who wasn’t physically sick but certainly spiritually sick. Jesus found Matthew “sitting at the tax booth.” That’s not at all like saying Jesus “saw Matthew sitting at Starbuck’s.” The tax booth was a symbol of greed, graft, corruption, and sleaze. When we seem to read one article after another about corruption being almost in the fabric of Illinois and Chicago politics, we can maybe understand that the guardians of morality would see no redeemable value at all in Matthew and his friends. But Jesus calls Matthew to discipleship. He calls him to follow. To those who would get upset and indignant, Jesus reminds them of Hosea’s words in our First Reading (5:15—6:6), “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Second,
there was the synagogue leader’s daughter.
A lot of writers focus on the faith of the synagogue leader, and that is
certainly a valid approach to this text.
But today let’s look at his daughter.
Jesus’ attention is diverted, not to the sick, but to the dead.
The leader appeals to Jesus that he should lay his hand on her so
she might live. Perhaps because of the
brevity of Matthew’s account, perhaps because we think we know this story so
well, but in our haste I fear sometimes we miss some of the drama and the
beauty in this story. How do Jesus and his disciples react? There’s no rolling of the eyes! There’s no response of: “Are you crazy? She’s dead!
Let her go!” Matthew reports it
so simply yet so profoundly, “Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.” When they go to the house they were
confronted by all the neighbors and the professional mourners “making a
commotion.” And, as one writer said
with tongue in cheek, “it’s sometimes hard to be Jesus,” because they laughed
at him – and sometimes the naysayers laugh at us – but Jesus took her by the
hand and raised her up.
Third,
there was the woman suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years. Certainly we would say she was physically
sick. You have to understand that
according to the law in Leviticus she was also considered unclean and unable to
participate in the worship of Israel. She
was isolated. No man could touch her,
including her husband if she were married.
She’s somewhat the sly one! She
figures that if she can just touch Jesus’ cloak she’ll be healed. By the way, Mark and Luke add more detail
that you might want to use to complete the story later today. But Matthew “cuts to the chase” with these
wonderful words, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”
All
that’s wonderful for “a day in the life of Jesus.” What about us today?
Jesus still turns his attention to those who are sick, to those the
world would just as soon cast off. One
writer almost sums up this whole lesson in one phrase, “Look what rubbish the
good Lord picks up!” (Insights, 6-24-90) The crucified and risen Christ calls us to
follow him. He takes what there is with
an eye on what can be. He called a tax
collector Matthew, intending to make of him the great apostle and
evangelist. God has a history of doing
that. Jacob was a man who cheated his
own brother; in him God saw the father of Israel. Cyrus was king of Persia, an unbeliever; God saw in him an
instrument to bring Israel out of exile.
In Amos the sheepherder and Jonah the runaway God found two great
prophets. Saul the zealous persecutor
of Christians became Paul the great apostle and missionary. God took a timid man frightened of thunderstorms
and made him a thundering voice calling the church back to faith – Martin
Luther.
It’s
important to realize that Jesus doesn’t romanticize (or maybe rationalize) and
say the sick are really well – or are an alternative form of “well.” They are sick. Matthew is awash in graft and greed.
The synagogue leader’s daughter is
dead. The woman is suffering from this hemorrhage. To get downright personal, by nature we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians
2:1). But Jesus didn’t write these
folks off and he doesn’t write us off.
He heals us. Right after
reminding us that we were dead in trespasses and sins, Paul in Ephesians
reminds us that God, “who is rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ –
by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him” (vv. 4ff).
This is
probably a difficult episode for us to understand and to apply to our
lives. There is no doubt a little bit
of Pharisee in us all. We want to keep
the church free from “tax collectors and sinners” – from… well, you fill in
some horrible category of sinner. Or on
the other extreme the church becomes one big dinner party with no standards. Even here Jesus doesn’t do away with
standards. In having table fellowship
with those otherwise rejected, he is extending God’s love to them by calling
them to repentance and calling them to a life in line with God’s will. He didn’t leave the synagogue leader’s daughter
dead, either! Nor did he leave the
woman in the isolation and suffering of her malady. Jesus comes to the spiritually sick today – to you and me and
those to whom we reach out – and he sets aside his whole schedule to touch us
with healing and life in his Word, as we remember water and Word, in bread and
wine, in prayer. Amen.
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You can e-mail Pastor
Heggen at heggens@juno.com.